home > Columns > Geekspeaks >
7/26/24 - Disneyland Resort
 The Geek Speaks:

Welcome to the disneygeek.com Geek Speaks section. In this section I will post my comments on trips to the parks or other Disney related events.

7/26/24 - Disneyland Resort

Hello Everyone!

I spent a nice afternoon/evening at the Disneyland Resort on Friday. I had a short agenda and visited with friends and family taking in some of the entertainment.   The weather was mild for late July topping out in the mid-80s and cooling to the 70s with a nice breeze most of the time.  The sun was hot but with the breeze and shade it was pleasant.   The crowds seemed to be mostly tourists for most of my visit.  Wait times were more than they have been but walking around it did not feel crowded and dining locations were not busy either.  As the sun set the crowds started to show up. There were as many cars entering the structure as were leaving at 8pm and security at Downtown Disney was backed up several dozen groups with only two lanes open on the north/parking structure side.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • My day started off with mixed parking luck.  I drew the slow lane at the tollbooths.. two had a handful of cars. I opted for the easier one to show my pass (driver’s side) and of course every car seemed to talk to the cast member, so the other lane rolled through at least 10 cars before I got up there.  On the positive side though no traffic up to the level and I was in the second row about 1/3 the way down only. So, a relatively close spot on the 3rd level.
  • Walked around the Rivers of America to check out the projects.  The walls in New Orleans Square will be reconfigured by Monday for the planned re-opening of the Haunted Mansion. It will return using a virtual queue as the queue work is not done yet.  It will be the Haunted Mansion Holiday version of the attraction. July is a little too early for me for Halloween.
  • The Mark Twain Riverboat had the top deck closed.  Not sure why, there was no explanation given. It was not that hot out and the stairs all looked ok.   That meant poor vantage points of the ongoing projects and a crowded feeling cruise around the Rivers of America. Also interesting the chairs from the bow were all moved into the shade. Maybe they were expecting it to be hotter than it was.
  • I watched the Dapper Dans perform a trio of times today.  I had not seen them that frequently this summer and wanted to hear the Pixar medley again before Pixar Fest ended.   I thought it was a well-done medley with some songs that went deeper than most into the library.   I also wanted to catch the Disneyland Band's medley, but timing did not work out Friday.
  • The Disneyland Railroad seemed to only have two trains in operation on Friday afternoon. The queues were not bad, but the wait time was lengthy between trains.  I went for a full grand circle tour which is always relaxing and a nice way to survey the park.
  • Since my last visit prices have gone up on most food items around the parks. For example, a burger and fries at Flo's went up 70 cents.  Popcorn is up to $6.   I took pictures of several menus and included them in the set and will update our Disneyland Dining Section with them in a few days so it is easier to compare the old and new pricing.  I thought that was a substantial jump.  Fountain drinks, water, etc.. did not change, but some other drink options did.
  • Storytime with Deadpool started Friday in the Hyperion Theater courtyard in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure. To celebrate the release of his new film Deadpool stops by to tell guests a story. There were four sessions on Friday, and he told two stories. Cinderpool and BeautyPool and the WolverBeast.   The stories are told in a sarcastic way as you would expect and do take some digs at Disney and Marvel as expected, but more or less they are family friendly, unlike the film.    The shows are targeted at a more mature demographic as you would expect though.  I stopped by three of the four shows and there were healthy crowds for each.  A good portion of the audience sits to make it slightly easier for more people to see a glimpse of the show.  Note the courtyard is flat so if you are on the shorter side viewing can be a problem.
  • The Golden Vine House a Disney Vacation Club Welcome Home Center has replaced the Blue Sky Cellar in Disney California Adventure. The facility is now a DVC sales location. To celebrate the opening Magic Key Holders can stop by and pick up an Inside Out 2 print. We did this Friday and to see what has changed. The interior of the building has been redone and there are a few models and a video door showcasing DVC properties. There are also a couple of offices and a few chairs. The cast members we spoke with were friendly and they only asked once if we were interested in DVC, we said no we just wanted to see the building and they said to enjoy and take a look around. The windows that overlook the parade route were not open due to the Pixar Fest kiosk being outside them, but cast members said once that moves the plan is to open the shutters. The new look is ok and retains some of the nods to past versions inside. I do not understand why a prime location needs to be a sales center. Seems to me they could have found some use for theme park guests. I enjoyed the original film and Blue Sky Cellar previews. I do not see any reason to visit this newest use of the space.
  • Pixar Fest is limping toward the finish line with just over a week to go until it ends August 4th.   This is most likely my final visit for the festival.  I had wanted to try and get pictures of two more Pizza Planet trucks but the queues were longer than my patience, so I failed.
  • I did find it interesting the large pavement project that has started in front of the Fantasyland Theatre. They started with the portion that forms the main walkway into the theatre. There are signs and its not a long detour to walk around the walls, its just interesting to me they are starting the project there vs say the other side that leads to the train station.  
  • I closed out my evening in Downtown Disney again.  The parks had no entertainment as the sun was setting and wait times were more than my patience, so we made our way out to the lawn area and caught the 7:30pm performance by the Tiger Five.  The area had a good number of guests moving around.  There seemed to be less stopping for the show this evening.  They could really use some additional seating options.  Sitting on the lawn is something you do at your own risk with the number of kids playing in the area. 

Here are some recent posts to the Geek's Blog:

Disney Related Press Releases

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
Back to previous page

 

Quick Note

Check out the geek speaks archive for past updates.

 

Interested in Helping out?

If you are a fellow disneygeek and interested in sharing your insights, pictures, thoughts drop us an email here we are always looking for contributors.